GB 2014204 A discloses a flame- and heat resistant pile fabric that comprises a base sheet made from flame-resistant and heat-resistant fibers, bearing on one or both faces a pile comprising yarn converted to a flame-resistant state and a flexible coating on the other face.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,513,042 A discloses a non-flammable sliver knit high pile fabric comprising a backing fabric that is knitted from a flame retardant aramid spun yarn and pile fabrics composed of a mixture of flame-retardant rayon fibres and super washed wool fibres and the back coating is constituted of a flame retardant composition. The fabric is especially useful in the manufacture of wearing apparel intended for use in extreme environments, such as fire fighting and cold weather military operations.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,666,802 B2 discloses a woven fabric composed of nylon or polyester fibres having both liquid barrier properties and fire-retardant properties without sacrificing many of the desirable properties of the fabric. In one embodiment the invention is also directed to a breathable nylon or polyester fabric having good fluid barrier characteristics and fire retardant properties. It includes a fluid saturated comprising a fire resistant oligomer and oil and water repellent composition impregnating the fabric and covering the surfaces and a layer of fire resistant polyurethane coating with halogen components covering at least one surface of the fabric. The fabric has a moisture vapour transmission rate of at least 600 g/m2 and a hydrohead of at least 30 cm.
The multilayer fabric of this invention unlike what is explained in the cited GB 2014204 A and U.S. Pat. No. 4,513,042 A does not require a coating since the bonding between at least one knitted textile layer and one impervious layer is obtained by lamination; and it does not require a chemical flame-retardant treatment since it is flame-resistant inherently.
The multi-layered fabric of this invention has persistent flame-retardancy that does not disappear by washing (resistant to at least 50 washes at 92° C. according to UNE EN ISO 6330) or use and its textile layer is made of 100% cellulosic fabrics.
The multilayer fabric of the invention contains a textile layer made of 100% cellulosic fabrics and it is knitted instead of woven as in U.S. Pat. No. 7,666,802 B2. The multilayer fabric of the invention is halogen-free and its hydrohead-test results are also much superior to the ones reached in the cited document.
US 2009/0075047 A discloses flame resistant textile knit fabrics for use in mattresses and household products, particularly bed clothing products such as pillows, comforters, bed spreads, mattress covers and mattress pad ticking. The document discloses a fabric made of yarn comprising about 50% to about 80% by weight of inherently flame retardant viscose rayon fibre, about 10% to about 25% of modacrylic fibre and about 10% to about 25% by weights of cellulosic fibre. US 2009/0075047 A is a mono-layered product and it is not waterproof.
The textile layer of the multilayer fabric of the current invention is made of 100% cellulosic fabrics, instead of a maximum of 25% in the US 2009/0075047 A, has with regard to this antecedent a higher elastic recovery according to UNE 40-395 and it is a waterproof product, with at least 400 cm hydrohead.
EP 1413213 A1 discloses a waterproof, fireproof composite textile comprising a first textile layer with a thermo-stable fibre base, a second layer comprising a non-flammable membrane impermeable to liquid water and permeable to water vapour and a third discontinuous adhesive layer placed between said first and second layers securing the second layer on the first layer, wherein the face of the first layer comprises a net of raised yarns said yarns being at a distance from each other so as to enable the inclusion of an air volume between said first layer and a layer arranged opposite. The cited net of raised yarns determine that the cited composite textile is hardly extensible and many of the fibres used in the first textile layer such as polyamide, polyacrylate, copolymide are not thermo-stable at temperatures occurring in a fire or burning situation and they need to be fireproof treated.
WO 99/35926 A discloses a waterproof and thermal barrier material comprising a textile assembly including a shell fabric and a layer of a carrier fabric to which a polymer is adhered wherein the protection is provided by an air space within the assembly. Moreover the disclosed textile assembly does not provide a flame-retardant effect.
Both EP 1413213 A1 and WO 99/35926 A provide an air layer and are intended for fire fighter garments.
US 2011/262704 A1 discloses a composite fabric for use in safety apparel made of a plurality of joined layers comprising at least one textile layer made of inherent flame-resistant fibres, comprising a woven or knitted structure and one impervious layer joined by lamination using an adhesive. US 2011/262704 provides a flame-retardant waterproof stretchable composite fabric, suitable as a flame barrier for pillows or mattress protectors/encasements, made from a plurality of joined breathable layers comprising at least one textile layer and one impervious layer joined by lamination using an adhesive.
US 2010/130085 describes a flame retardant waterproof breathable composite fabric for upholstery comprising a frame retardant viscose knitted textile adhesively laminated on a polyurethane or polyester film.
The composite fabric of this invention comprises a knitted structure selected among Single Jersey or Interlock type providing a multidirectional extensibility and the impervious layer is of biaxial elastic condition, so that the multilayer stretchable fabric has at least 85% of elastic recovery in both fabric directions, according to UNE EN 15977, as well as taken a persistent flame-retardancy.
Moreover the composite fabric of this invention was specially intended to provide a flame barrier for pillows or mattresses including at least one textile layer providing in case of burning a carbonized layer that acts as a protective screen that safeguards mattresses and pillows.